The Roman Sams is scheduled to be the house band, playing from 8 to 11 p.m., rain or shine, following the Sand in the Streets concert today.

On Friday, The Terry Hseih Collective will be live, and on Saturday, Villes & Boros and Tragic Magic will perform. Both concerts begin at 9:30 p.m.

Trivia has begun, with another round to be played Aug. 22.

The Roman Sams also are scheduled for Aug. 29, when the Sand in the Streets’ Mel Melton & the Wicked Mojos rescheduled concert will hit the Pearson Park stage.

The Red Room, at 220 N. Herritage St., is open from 7 p.m. to midnight on Thursdays and 7 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. For information, call 252-520-2000.

Theatrical group to sponsor events

New Voices-New Visions is a seasoned theater arts group that is resuming its programming in the area as an umbrella organization of the Community Council for the Arts.

Upcoming events include a Public Poetry Workshop from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday and an open call for talent from 11a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 24.

Saturday’s poetry workshop, in cooperation with the North Carolina Writers’ Network, will feature ECU Professor Gabrielle Brant Freeman. Freeman will explore how collaboration can get a writer “out of his/her own head,” leading to inspiration. Attendees will participate in several collaborative writing exercises. Freeman will read some of her work, and participants will have an opportunity to read some of theirs as well.

Freeman’s poetry can be found in many journals, including Clockhouse Review, Chagrin River Review, The Emerson Review, Red Rock Review and Shenandoah. She earned her master of fine arts in poetry through Converse College in Spartanburg, S.C. A Southern California native, she teaches composition at ECU.

Lunch will be provided by the Queen Street Deli and Bakery. Tickets are $20, including lunch. Reservations are suggested by calling 252-526-7353.

The open call for talent includes actors, singers, dancers, writers and all theatrical artists interested in performing in the 2013-14 season. Under consideration are “Dreamgirls,” “For Colored Girls” and other productions.

From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 24, participants should be prepared to show their best during the videotaping for casting archives.

Page 2 of 2 - For more information on these sessions, contact Ronn Shedrick at nvnv@ShedrickEnterprises.com.